NBA FINALS: HEAT VS. NUGGETS

June 1, 2023

Erik Spoelstra

Miami Heat

Game 1: Postgame

Denver Nuggets 104, Miami Heat 93

Q. Obviously their offense has always been a riddle, and Jokic is so unique. Was there something tonight that you can go to school on, or is it just perplexing what they were able to do?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, we're definitely going to have to go to school on it. They are in a pretty good rhythm, especially in that first half. Our disposition, the multiple efforts, the resolve in the second half was much better.

But you get to this level, it has to be complete games of that kind of disposition. Even if you have that, you are not always going to win all the possessions that you want.

But that's what you expect. You don't expect it to be easy when you get to this Final round.

This is a great challenge. It's going to require more. We will get to work and see what we can do better, what we can do harder, what we can do with more effort, what we can do with more focus, etc.

Q. It felt like Haywood Highsmith injected some energy into your team tonight. What did you see out of his game, and what's he done to earn more and more?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, that's what we need from everybody, regardless of when you come into the game, how many minutes you're getting, those inspiring minutes. And that's what our team is about, having a roster of guys that just come out there and you're making great efforts, you're impacting the game and then it inspires the next guy to do it.

We need more of those kind of things. He's kept himself ready, and those are good minutes, for sure.

Q. Just two free throws tonight, but did you like some of the offensive process in the first half? It seemed like you were getting looks but guys just weren't making them?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: We had some good, clean looks from the three-point line. Then we had too many possessions where we didn't work it to get the possession on our terms.

But you have to credit them with their size and really protecting the paint and bringing a third defender. Things have to be done with a lot more intention and a lot more pace, a lot more detail.

We are an aggressive, attacking team, and so if we are not getting those kind of opportunities at the rim or at the free throw line, we have to find different ways to be able to do it.

Q. Max and Caleb obviously really struggled from the field. When they are going like that, what do you say to them after to get them back into some kind of rhythm?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: No, they are fine. I mean, they are not going to get sick at sea. If they are shooters, you're not always going to be able to make all the shots that you want. Then you have to find different ways to impact the game.

Our game is not built just on the three-point ball. We have proven that time and time again. We can win games. We can win series, regardless of how the three is going.

But we also have ignitable guys. You see a couple go through and that also can become an avalanche. One way or the other, we have to find a way to get the job done.

Q. Bam had already hit a career high in field goal attempts or tied it toward the end of the third quarter. How much of that was induced by how Denver was playing him, and how did you like the balance he had with the space on the floor?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: I thought he had some good opportunities right in his sweet spot and then also some opportunities at the rim. Then I thought some of our detail with the spacing and the pace and our intention of our offense kind of got us jammed up.

It always kind of could look different, a few of these threes go down at the right time, a few of the layups right at the rim or the short ones go down at the right time, that also could change your perspective or tenor of how you think things are going.

But we do need to do things better. I think that part is clear.

Q. They obviously had a lot of success in the paint early on. How unique is the way they generate shots at the rim compared to other teams you guys have faced?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, it's different. That's what you expect going into this series. They're a passing and cutting team, but also they are an aggressive team, and so are we.

I didn't even look at the box score yet, but like I said, I think the disposition, the efforts were more appropriate in the second half. But that's not enough. It has to be for a full game, and you also have to make some plays when you're beat.

The plays in between; it's not always going to happen perfectly. It's not always going to happen based on the scheme. That's the nature of our team, is we find a way to compete and overcome whatever it is. We need a lot more of that in Game 2.

Q. It looked like the zone played a little better in the second half. What was better connected with you guys defensively when you went back to zone that time?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, I don't know. I never point to the scheme. Scheme is not going to save us. It's going to be the toughness and resolve, collective resolve. That's us at our finest, when we rally around each other and commit to doing incredibly tough things. That's what our group loves to do more than anything, to compete, to get out there and do things that people think can't be done.

The efforts made that work in the second half, but we're proving that we can do that with our man defense, too.

Q. How much of the next 72 hours is going to be just reminding Max and Caleb that you just want them to not look at this box and just keep shooting?

ERIK SPOELSTRA: Yeah, we've been through this before. Like, they are ignitable (snapping fingers). They have heard it from us. They will hear it from us. I love those looks that those guys get. I love it when they see a couple, two or three go down; that can turn into five or six.

But I also love it, you know, that toughness and grit, that we don't have to depend on that. We can find different ways and different solutions to get a win.